The tanks were first deployed in 1917 by the French during World War I. A brand new invention that was capable of taking over the battleground and turning the tables.
While tanks were powerful, Germans focused more on developing anti-tank weapons. In World War II, weapons like Bazooka were introduced, paired with combat engineering to take these battle giants down.
While the world adopted different measures to take tanks down like grenades, mines, rockets and rifles, some countries like China and South Korea also adopted some of the most extream measures like suicide bombing during the war.
It was a challenging task to penetrate through the armour of the tanks back in the time. And today, due to advancements in the anti-tank defence systems, the task is even more challenging.
But the innovators and manufacturers haven’t stopped innovating. The need to protect the militants in the war and to minimise the loss of life, countries are investing in anti-tank weapons.
Today in this article, we are going to cover some of the anti-tank weapons that are used to demolish the battle tanks.
1. RPG-32
RPG-23 also knows as Nash-Shab, which is a rocket-propellent, short-range, portable grenade launcher manufactured by JRESCO, which stands for JADARA Equipment and Defence Systems Company.
This anti-tank weapon comes with electro-optical sighting system and is also equipped with 72.5mm or 105mm ammunition.
This weapon can be used against diverse armed vehicles, buildings and forces in closed or open regions.
2. Istiglal IST-14.5
Istiglal IST-14.5 is an anti-Tank Rifle (ATR) which is manufactured by Azerbaijan Defense Industry. Although this anti-material rifle was manufactured by 2008, it was introduced in 2009, which attracted a lot of attention from the world. Istiglal, which means Independence in Azerbaijani, makes use of 14.5x114mm rounds and is widely used by Turkish and Pakistan armed forces. The rifle rests on a bipod structure and can be parted into 2 for the sake of easy transportation.
3. Spike
Spike was created for Israel defence forces by Rafael and Rheinmetall and Diehl BGT. The best thing about Spike is that multiple versions of missiles are available for different range. SPIKE-MR is used for combating targets within the range of 200m -2,500m. SPIKE-LR is used for targets within the range of 200m-4000m and SPIKE-ER is used for demolishing targets like vehicles and helicopters.
4. FGM-148 Javelin
This anti-tank missile was manufactured jointly by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. This is a fire-and-forget medium-range guided missile which allows “soft launch”, making it perfect for firing on the target from enclosed places. This 11.8kg missile is trusted by 11 countries for meeting their combat needs.
Even after having hundreds of anti-tank weapons, tanks still remain key elements in the battle. Most countries rely on battle tanks during combat and improvements are also being made towards the advancements and protection of these fighting machines.
To counter these instruments of mass destructions, countries and manufacturers are also pushing the technology to penetrate through the armour with the help of advanced weapons. Nowadays, when protective armour for tanks is also being adopted by the forces, designing an anti-tank weapon might seem challenging, but with technology and determination, it’s not impossible.
